Review: ‘Snow White’ on Blu-ray
Truth be told, I was never a big fan of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The basic children’s fairy tale was simplified for the 1937 film, starting with the excising of Snow’s mother in favor of just presenting the wicked stepmother. When the Queen tries to do away with Snow White, it took her three attempts which Walt cut down to just the poisoned apple. On the other hand, Walt’s idea of having the Prince’s kiss wake her up is superior to a piece of apple being dislodged from her throat. It would have been nice if the Queen was forced to watch her step-daughter happily marry the Prince, wearing red-hot iron shoes as her punishment.
Wisely, Walt simplified the story to fit it in the constraints of then-current film-making. Additionally, he played up the part of the Seven Dwarfs, giving each a distinctive personality that have become memorable. In the story, after she sought shelter in their home, they agreed to let her stay with them in exchange for her services as cook, maid, and, laundress. Instead, Snow here takes it upon herself to do the cleaning first, ingratiating herself to the dwarfs before meeting them. Of course, that allows for the animators to let the forest creatures come to her aid set to song.
Still, it’s a charming story, simply told; an experiment that paid off handsomely, catapulting Walt’s studio ahead of all other animators.
Now, the studios’ crown jewel is coming to Blu-ray, going on sale tomorrow. The Blu-ray edition has two discs, one for the film and one for the copious extras. Also included is a standard DVD version so this combo pack is the one to buy for now and the future. While the standard disc contains extras, the supplemental Blu-ray disc has them and much more.
The original film has been meticulously restored and the lush color and design has never looked better. The sound is crisp and the imagery a wonder. Clearly, this is the best the film has ever looked.
Blu-ray owners will enjoy having the Magic Mirror act as the Disney Smart Navigation interface. The mirror guides you through both discs and has enough intelligence ot know if you’ve played this before and whether to resume where you left off. BD Live adds to his functionality and practical use such as time and weather information. If you don’t like the letterbox bars, you can switch to Disney View which features new art extensions prepared by Toby Bluth, complete with some new information about their creation.
Extras include Backstage Disney: Hyperion Studios, an exhaustive look at the original home for Disney and his animation team complete with virtual tour of the first house that Walt built. A ton of archival material has been unearthed for presentation to diehard fans with every department well represented. Along the way you will watch two Silly Symphony cartoons from the early days and be treated to commentary and tours from current animators including Pixar’s Andrew Stanton. You learn much about how it all began through a series of short features but it requires effort to poke and prod through every doorway and department within the virtual studio.
Snow White gets its due in “The One That Started It All” that offers up some new information and insights.
One of the more interesting featurettes is Snow White Returns. Recently uncovered archival material indicates Walt may have been toying with a sequel and we spent nearly 9 minutes reviewing the data. Deleted scenes include the “Soup Eating Sequence” and the “Bed Building Sequence”.
Resurrected from previous editions are “Dopey’s Wild Mine Ride” game, “Heigh-Ho”, a karaoke sing-along and “Disney Through the Decades”, “Animation Voice Talent” (featuring Caselotti). Unfortunately, some of the 2001 edition features are absent.
This belongs in every videophile’s library and under the Christmas tree of children from coast to coast. The charm and whimsy endures as witnessed in this beautiful collection.
For the last 25-30 years, writers and artists have been having a wonderful time contrasting the differences between Superman and Batman. Prior to that, they were both happy-go-lucky super-heroes, brothers-in-arms with nary a problem twixt them. The team of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness really explored the dichotomy between the icons in[[[ Superman/Batman]]], the modern day version of [[[World’s Finest Comics]]]. Their opening story arc, “Public Enemies”, was a major turning point in the DCU, bringing down the curtain on one set of stories and kick starting threads that played out across the line for several years.
After a rocky first season that ended with the letter writing campaign to save [[[Star Trek]]] from cancellation, the second season opened in a horrible Friday night time slot but was a stronger series. Creator Gene Roddenberry continued to oversee everything as an Executive Producer but John Meredith Lucas took over as the line producer, aided by Roddenberry’s former secretary, D.C. Fontana becoming the script consultant. These changes made for a strong start as witnessed on [[[Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2]]], now out on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Video.
Olivia Wilde, who we adore on House and look forward to seeing in the sequel to Tron, will join The Ruins’ Jonathan Tucker in the cast of The Next Three Days, a thriller directed by Paul Haggis for Lionsgate. The cast already includes Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks, which is said to be the story of a woman (Banks) imprisoned for a murder she claims she didn’t commit while her husband (Crowe) who tries to vindicate her.
The Wizards of Waverly Place, the popular Disney Channel series, has received an order for an additional eight episodes. Now in its third season, the show was awarded an Emmy this month in the children’s programming category. It also scored huge ratings when a feature-length version aired in August. It’s no surprise that the show has a rabid following with Disney raking in bucks from consumer products ranging from video games to books and even clothing lines.
Pity Skynet. They rule the world of the future but can’t seem to get it right in the present. Rights to the Terminator franchise have been handed from one company to another and now Halcyon Holding Group is undergoing Chapter 11 reorganization which will affect plans for the Terminator.
Deadline Hollywood
Primeval, the much loved but low-rated British series has been given a fourth season order after ITV1 cut a deal with the digital channel Watch. According to a report in the 
As you know by now, this animated feature is based on the Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuinness graphic novel collecting Superman/Batman #1-6. Bruce Timm is executive producer. Michael Goguen is supervising producer. Sam Liu is directing a script written by veteran Stan Berkowitz.
In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime,” Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite – and recruit help – to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.
kicked off the summer season and much of the film review that follows originally appeared on my blog. This past week, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the movie on DVD and Blu-ray, both containing a digital copy as has become standard these days. Since his introduction in 1974 through 2000, people were fascinated by Wolverine. He was a feral, edgy character at a time few other costumed crime fighters were. There was a tragic element to him since he could not recall his past. Through the years, writers teased us with bits and pieces about him, letting us know he was long-lived and had gotten around. But, just where did this Canadian come from?
